The present invention relates to an improved method and apparatus in a downender assembly for receiving unit loads, such as paper rolls, from a manufacturing assembly line and placing those unit loads in vertical stacks. The present invention provides an improved method and apparatus which facilitates ease of movement of the unit loads and minimizes damage caused to the unit loads by the handling process.
There are many distinct methods currently practiced for receiving unit loads from, for example, manufacturing conveyor assemblies and placing those unit loads in storage or shipping. One obvious method is to manuallly stack the unit loads on a pallet as they exit from the conveyor assembly. The pallet containing the stacked unit loads is then transported and placed in the appropriate storage position or shipping position by means of a forklift or overhead crane. Another solution includes the manual placement of the unit loads on a flatbed forklift, transporting the stack of unit loads to a pallet or storage area and removing the forklift support from the bottom. These solutions are undesirable when working with heavy, unwieldy unit loads or fragile unit loads which may sustain damage in transportion.
Other systems include the placement of an overhead crane and hoist to lift the unit loads from the conveyor assembly and stack the unit loads individually in their desired location. For units such as manufactured paper rolls, which are rolled upon a hollow core, some apparatus have used a tine assembly which inserts into the hollow core or an element which is placed into the interior of the core and expands to contact the paper roll.
None of these methods and apparatus has proven entirely satisfactory for use in handling different sizes and shapes of unit loads as well as providing for efficient vertical stacking. Demand is present for an improved downender apparatus and method which can, for example, receive unit loads from a conveyor assembly or from a transport and stack the unit loads with minimum damage to the unit loads. The system should be adaptable to many different items of unit loads. The present method and apparatus achieve these desired goals.